Tuesday, July 1, 2014

What's the Difference in Kale?

I was sitting at work today wondering what to make myself for dinner, when Kale came to mind. I always see Kale Salads on websites and Pinterest, but honestly, I've never been able to make it really well. A few weeks ago I came across a site that told me the specific type of kale that's best for making kale chips....and I was like "whaaaat?!" I guess I just really never thought about how many types of kale there are. The grocery store I used to go to only ever had curly kale, so I assumed that was the universal kind. Boy was I WRONG! Here's what I found out today:

Curly Kale: This is the stuff that can be pretty bitter when you eat it raw. It's best to saute this kind and give it some more flavor with spices. Used for juicing and can be eaten raw in salads too. (I just personally do not like it in salads)

Lacinato Kale: Also called "Dinosaur" Kale is a large blue-green leaf. It's not bitter at all, and this is the kind that I used for my salad. It's best to cut the leaves off of the stem because that stem is really hard!

Red Kale: This red tinged kale has a peppery flavor as well as sweet. Again, you'll want to remove the stem before cooking or eating because it is seriously tough!

Redbor Kale: This is the curly purple leaf that you probably get on your plate as a decoration at restaurants! While you CAN eat it, it's really not that tasty.

Like I said, for this salad I used Lacinato Kale. It's changed my mind about how I can use kale and how to work it into my daily life more!

Here's a recipe for you to try out to get some kale, and superfoods in your diet!

Ingredients:

- 1 Bunch Lacinato Kale

- 1/2 cup Carrots, Shredded

- 3/4 of a full Cucumber, Diced

- 1 Avocado, Diced

- 2 Tbsp Nutritonal Yeast

- 1/2 cup Walnuts, Raw, Chopped

- 1/2 cup Edamame, Shelled

- 1 Bell Pepper, Any Color, Diced

- 1 Lemon

- 1/2 cup Tahini

- 1 tsp Garlic, Minced

- 3/4 cup Water

Directions:

- Cut kale off of stem. Chop thinly, or even use scissors to cut it into small pieces like I do!